Stories by Steve Bonspiel

The good news is 2024 is almost over, and whether it was a pretty good one or a pretty rough one – or somewhere in between – 2025 is definitely exciting to think about, plan, and, most importantly, get done!

It can be fun to make a Top 5 Christmas wish list for the entire community, but this one isn’t about chocolate and a train set, although Kahnawake should be getting money for the actual train tracks that litter the community, but we digress on that, at least for now.

We couldn’t jump right into the holidays with cheer and goodwill just yet, as the important issue of housing has popped back into the news.

Canada was underfunding our on-reserve children for far too long, and now we are dealing with a secondary, potentially larger issue with a backlog of money that needs to be paid.

They will no longer be running on Indian Time. Sadly, Akwesasne will be, by the end of this year, devoid of an independent media free of overt political influence, and whether you live there or not, you should be concerned.

Although we hate to reuse certain phrases, “one of the worst-kept secrets” has popped up too often this year with the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK).

Mohawk Council of Kanesatake grand chief Victor Bonspille did a good job in a so-called press release this week, signed by only him (there’s a pattern here), by making himself look vindictive, taking it to a personal level.

When $47.8 billion isn’t enough and people stand up and say that, it certainly gets people in Canada to take notice.

All the dumping going on in Kanesatake for so many years has created a horrible and unhealthy situation and has divided families and broken up the firm social tenet we all used to feel of “at least we protect the land.” That isn’t the case anymore for too many community members, who welcome dumping because they benefit from it.

There are many concerns that have been voiced with Indigenous Services Canada’s imminent move out of Kahnawake to Montreal, not the least of which are how will elders and people with limited mobility renew their band cards easily?